Chichicastenango Maya Market: Explore Ancient Rituals

At the Chichicastenango Maya Market, you’ll have the opportunity to observe time-honored Indian ceremonies at the Santo Tomas Church, in addition to exploring an attractive open-air marketplace. This market serves as a hub for local people to trade goods such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, grains, livestock, fabrics and handcrafted items.

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Guatemala City Central Park - Guests will be picked up from their hotel in Guatemala City and transferred to Chichicastenango. Occasionally, the transfer will pass through Antigua Guatemala. Below is a brief overview of what to expect during the journey.
  • Mercado de Chichicastenango - Upon arrival at the market, the walking tour will commence….
What's Included
  • Lunch (if option selected)
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Driver/guide
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Professional bilingual guide
What's Not Included
  • Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
  • Food and drinks
  • Optional gratuities
Additional Information
  • Minimum of 2 passengers (adults) is required for the tour to run. If the minimum size is not reached, the tour is subject to cancellation and all tickets are refunded or rescheduled.
  • Tours include bilingual guide (English and Spanish).
  • It is recommended that you bring walking shoes, hat, sunglasses, and a camera.
  • Please contact us if you need a…
Location
Guatemala City Central Park
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.0
(21 Ratings)
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Arifa_s
Sep 11, 2024
Our travel guide Juan was... - Our travel guide Juan was very informative and awesome! We enjoyed learning about the history and people of Guatemala
Review provided by Viator
Gina_b
Sep 6, 2022
Market Day - Urbano picked us up at the hotel and brought us back home. We picked up Celestino our tour guide at Antigua. They were both friendly and knowledgeable. You do spend apt of time in the car as it is far away, however it was worth the drive.
Review provided by Viator
Navigate14982793079
Apr 21, 2022
INTERESTING AND BEAUTIFUL - Chichicastenago is a very interesting town full of Mayan History, it kind of has a feeling of a mystery town from the market to the churches and the cemetery its full of history. Atitlan is just breathtaking the view, the people and of course the food....just spectacular!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Minerva_s
Apr 4, 2022
Chichicastenango & Lake Atitlan - Guide (Tino) and driver (Mynor) very nice and professional. I learned a lot about Guatemala 🇬🇹 just be aware that you will spend 6-8 hours on the road.
Review provided by Viator
Cmw133
Aug 6, 2021
A long day, but really interesting and worth it - I took this tour on August 1, 2021 with Adolfo as my tour guide. He was a wonderful tour guide who helped us all understand the area and kept us entertained with information and stories during the drive. Chichicastenango was a little overwhelming - very busy with tons of vendors approaching us to sell small items. I enjoyed visiting the churches and the cemetery was really interesting. It looked a little like the cemeteries in New Orleans, except all of the tombs were painted different colors. Other reviews mention that they ate in Chichi - Adolfo gave us the choice and we decided to eat in Panajachel instead. After a little bit of shopping, we got back into the van and drove to Pana. The views were really beautiful. He took us to a restaurant where we sat right next to the lake and enjoyed the beautiful sights while eating seafood and drinking Gallo beers. I was traveling alone and one of my favorite parts of this tour was meeting the other people on it. There were six of us total, from Spain, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, and the US. I was a little hesitant to book such a long day trip and if possible, it would probably be nice to spend a couple of nights in Panajachel. Three of the people in our group took this tour and brought their luggage with them. We left them there at a hotel in Pana and the rest of us went back to Antigua, so keep in mind that you have that option. Definitely recommend this tour if you are on a tight time schedule like I was!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fred_c
Apr 3, 2024
Nice one day trip from Guatemala City - Nice panoramic view of Atitlan Lake. The Maya market is good. Lunch is excellent. The driver also spoke in English for us although I joined a Spanish-speaking tour.
Review provided by Viator
Happiness41886439453
Feb 27, 2024
Good tour - The views you see in Atitlan are unforgettable, kind of the feeling you get at the Grand Canyon, majestic. The only problem I see is that after a 3 hour ride to the lake, they give you an hour to walk around, the hour is spent ordering and eating your food before returning.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jonathan_p
May 13, 2023
Decent tour but costly. - I based my ratings on three things: Customer Service, Experience with the Activity, and Cost. Customer Service: Stellar communication (5 stars) Experience with the Activity: I was the only English speaker and the guide did his best to provide me with information on the trip, but seemed to provide more to the Spanish speakers. I shared the same experience as some of the reviews here (the time at the lake was very short). Also, we had to make a stop in Antigua which ate up about 2 hours (to and from Guatemala City), so it was unnecessarily added time. Time at the market was nice and we got to stop at the church. (2.5 stars) Cost: For two people, I paid $160 USD, which is a little steep for Guatemala. (2 stars) Overall: If I could do this again, I would reconsider and take an Uber or taxi to the market and then Uber again to the lake. I recommend anyone who is more interested in the lake to avoid this tour as it spent approximately 1 -1.5 hours here with about 20-30 minutes of alone time. In sum, the tour accomplishes everything it says but at a steep cost and added stops in Antigua.
Review provided by Viator
W4780lrjessical
Apr 24, 2024
DO NOT BOOK - THEY WILL CANCEL - DO NOT BOOK! My husband and I were so excited to be going to the Market and Atitlan and they cancelled last minute. They messaged me a couple days prior to confirm pick up and when I responded there was absolutely no reply back. I called and messaged privately. When we got back to our place, we noticed they have cancelled our trip last minute. Very very disappointed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A2968wgtinan
Dec 10, 2023
DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM! They will cancel last minute on you! - Horrible experience! I booked my tour with them for Sunday. I landed Saturday afternoon and was set for Sunday. I emailed them my confirmation location and phone number per their request on their policy. I had the hotel call for me, but the phone went straight to voicemail. I left a text message for them, but No one got back to me. I assumed they would just pick me up Sunday 6:30am. I get a cancellation at 10:01pm on Saturday that they were canceling on me. 8hrs and 29 minutes before the tour. They didn’t even call or email me why they canceled. I could have booked other tours, if I had know that they were going to cancel on me. Now it is too late and I cannot go to the chichicastenango market because they are only opened Sunday and Thursday. I leave Wednesday. I wasted my time with this company. Do not book them!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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November 2024
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